Personal tastings, guided masterclasses and private gatherings that connect the wines, food and stories of Andalusia. Our private tasting venue, Bodega Sierra de Mijas, is in La Sierrezuela, Mijas. Each experience is shaped around your people.
ANDALUSIAN WINES · SHARED DISCOVERY
A DIFFERENT KIND OF WINE AFTERNOON
A little curiosity. A lasting connection.
No prior expertise is required. We start with what you notice in the glass and build from there, connecting the wines to the landscape and the people who make them.
An intimate tasting for four to six has a different rhythm from an evening for 20. We shape the depth, pace and service around your group, whether you want to understand a grape, explore a region or bring people together around good wine and food.
Selected for contrast, character and the story they tell together.
Your people, your pace
Personal sessions and private groups up to 20, with a format to suit.
A setting that fits
Bodega Sierra de Mijas is our private tasting room in La Sierrezuela. We agree a suitable venue for each group.
A flight made for you
Choose a region or ask us to shape a bespoke comparison.
THREE WAYS TO TASTE TOGETHER
Different gatherings. The same sense of discovery.
Choose the kind of gathering you have in mind. We will shape the wine, food and conversation around your people, then send a clear proposal with the full price before you decide.
01
The Personal Wine Discovery
Find your wine. Follow your curiosity.
4–6 guests · Your own private tasting
Allow around 90 minutes
A personal session with Ilja, built around what you enjoy and what you would like to understand. Compare four Andalusian wines, discover what happens when they meet food, and find the styles and flavours that speak to you. Start with the basics or bring a question that deserves a deeper conversation.
Four contrasting Andalusian wines
Four small tapas pairings
Personal guidance on taste and food combinations
Water, glassware and time for your questions
Our private tasting room at Bodega Sierra de Mijas, with arrangements confirmed personally.
Connect the glass to the landscape through a guided four-wine comparison. Explore grapes and cellar traditions, handle regional soil samples and discover how a thoughtful bite of food changes the conversation. Choose our signature journey across Andalusia or go deeper into one wine region.
Four wines selected for a connected comparison
Four small regional tapas pairings
Tactile soil exploration and guided discussion
A pace adapted to beginners or experienced wine lovers
Bodega Sierra de Mijas or another suitable setting, agreed for your group.
For a celebration, visiting friends or time together as a team. Four Andalusian wines and tapas create a sociable route into the region’s stories, with enough discovery to spark conversation and plenty of room to enjoy each other’s company. Groups of 15–20 are welcome, with a venue and service plan shaped around the occasion.
A hosted comparison of four Andalusian wines
Four small tapas pairings per guest
Stories, food combinations and accessible tasting guidance
A service plan and setting suited to your gathering
Venue agreed in advance. Any external venue, catering or additional service costs are itemised in your proposal.
These are proposed formats. Your personal proposal confirms the date, duration, venue, wines, pairings, service and total price before you book. Wines and menus vary with availability.
Tapas are tasting-sized pairings rather than a full meal. Tell us if you have a larger food occasion in mind. Transport is arranged separately.
PERSONALLY ARRANGED
From your idea to our table.
01
Tell us about your gathering
Share your date, group size, preferred experience and wine interests.
02
Receive your personal proposal
We confirm availability and send the format, venue, wines, food, duration and complete price, including any agreed extras.
03
Agree the details
Your booking is confirmed personally once you accept the proposal and any agreed booking conditions are met. An enquiry alone does not reserve a date.
These are the ingredients of a guided masterclass. We adapt their depth and rhythm to your chosen format, so you leave with something to recognise the next time you open an Andalusian bottle.
01
Begin with the place
Connect the landscapes, grapes and histories that shape Andalusian wine. Meet the growers and the choices that make each bottle distinctive.
02
Taste with intention
Explore a curated four-wine flight. Compare aroma, structure and texture side by side, with space for questions and a fresh perspective with every glass.
03
Get closer to the land
Handle soil samples and discuss their role alongside rainfall, altitude, grape variety and cellar decisions. Terroir becomes a conversation you can feel.
04
Let the pairing speak
Discover how regional tapas shift your perception of a wine. The menu follows the flight and is agreed with your group's dietary requirements in advance.
Ilja Rijnen · Founder, host & wine educator
THE PERSON AT THE TABLE
Meet Ilja. Bring your curiosity.
A love of wine and food, a background in psychology and nearly two decades in the drinks industry. I bring them together through wine tastings in Mijas.
My approach is relaxed and personal: start with what you enjoy, follow your questions and discover what happens when the right wine meets a thoughtful bite of food. Whether you are opening your first chapter or deepening a lifelong interest, there is room for you here.
Think almonds with a dry white, a local cheese alongside a mountain red, or the interplay of salt and umami with a wine aged under flor. Pairings are chosen to reveal a relationship, not to overwhelm the glass.
Menus vary with the flight and ingredient availability. Please share allergies and dietary requirements when enquiring so suitability can be confirmed before booking.
“
Sometimes the most revealing tasting note is the one you find across the table.
THE ACADEMY APPROACH
CHOOSE YOUR CONVERSATION
Discover the whole. Or go deeper.
Our signature flight connects four contrasting expressions from across Andalusia. Five regional masterclasses offer a closer study of place; bespoke sessions can explore any part of the wider guide.
Compare the delicacy of a dry aromatic white with the texture of amphora-aged wine, the character of a mountain red and the concentration of naturally sweet Moscatel. Slate, slope, vine age and cellar decisions become tangible around one table.
This flight follows the decisions behind the wine. Compare grape identity, ripeness and tannin; explore what fine lees, concrete eggs and large oak vessels can contribute. The aim is to understand how very different producers make convincing wines in the same mountain region.
Explore the vineyards of Montilla-Moriles alongside a comparison with northern Málaga. At the table, trace the decisions that separate a dry PX white from fino, amontillado and vintage sweet PX — without confusing colour, age or alcohol with sweetness.
This is a study of transformation. Handle the pale chalk soil, follow the movement of wine through a solera and compare biological, sequential and oxidative ageing. The featured bodegas reveal different scales and traditions, from riverside family cellars to almacenista selections and long-aged reserves.
Explore aromatic whites, lees, terracotta and the structure of mountain-grown reds. The central lesson is comparison: altitude is one influence among exposure, grape choice, harvest timing and cellar practice. These wines deserve to be understood estate by estate.
A gathering, a celebration, or simply a good question.
Choose a personal tasting for one or two, a masterclass for three to twelve, or a private gathering for thirteen to twenty. Each can explore a regional focus, our signature flight or a tailored comparison. Tell us your preferred tasting language; we confirm the hosting language, venue, date, wines, duration and price before a reservation is agreed.
Continue the discovery with an experience shaped around your group. From a personal tasting at Bodega Sierra de Mijas in La Sierrezuela to a private gathering of 15–20 guests at an agreed venue, Andalusian wines, regional stories and tapas bring the guide to life.
